Divided we Stand
by Mystic Cake
Summary: Never the good test-taker, Minato now faces a new test, this one has more at stake than ever before. To pass this fearsome test, Minato will need to call upon all of his sekirei... as well as a few others that may or may not cooperate with him...
1. Welcome to the Playground

Divided we Stand

Author's Note- Before you read this I'll be honest, writing a Sekirei fic (and this one in particular) makes me very uncomfortable for 2 good reasons: First, I haven't watched Sekirei (I don't read manga) in a good 6 months, so characters may be a bit OOC, but I'll be trying my best with it, just a fair warning. And second, this isn't my fic idea to begin with- I was given permission to write and edit this idea by Flair the demon dragon king, but still, not my idea, and that makes me uncomfortable...

Regardless, I encourage constructive critisism; if this fic is garbage in your opinion, by all means, let me know. If it's the greatest fic ever written, then don't let me know, because I KNOW it isn't and if you think it is then you're deprived of good reading, and I'm sorry for you.

So without further stalling, here we go:

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Welcome to the Playground<span>

Once sleeping so soundly on the ground, Minato shivered as a frigid wind blew across his body. Acting by his baser instincts since he was still asleep, Minato tried to pull the blanket over himself more, but he could not, there was nothing there, nothing covering him.

"Unghh... what... where is my blanket..? And why is it so cold in my room..?" Minato rubbed his arms vigorously as he sat up and looked around for an open window that must have been the source of the cold wind- there was none. There was nothing.

Nothing, was the sight Minato was greeted with when he looked around what he expected to be his room. A barren, grey wasteland, totally devoid of life and features save for a few hills and mountains in the distance- no grass, no trees, no houses, no people. Minato was all alone, in this cold wasteland.

"What is this place..? Where did my room go? Where did Izumo Inn go?" Minato wondered aloud, pushing himself to his feet and looking around.

"MUSUBI? KU-CHAN? MATSU? TSUKIUMI?" Minato called for each of his sekirei, he was answered only by his empty echo.

"You're all alone, I hope you've realized that by now." A playful woman's voice said from behind Minato. Minato spun around to face the source of the voice, and hopefully get some answers, what he found was... not quite what he expected.

In front of Minato was a small floating amorphous orb of light that cackled cruelly at his bewilderment.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Minato asked, the orb's response was more laughter at his expense.

"I will answer as I see fit- for now I will only tell you that I am a... proctor, a teacher, a... mentor, so to speak, and this is a test for you, Minato-san." The orb answered thoughtfully, elaborating what little information it was willing to tell with great care.

"A test..? What kind of test?" Minato asked curiously- a test from a floating orb in the middle of a grey, unknown land? The amount of questions has long since surpassed the amount of answers, and they only kept piling on.

"A test of resolve..." The orb started to warp and distort, growing in size as its formerly snow-white glow of purity turned black as if a bottle of ink was spilled onto it.

"A test of resourcefulness..." The orb continued darkly, it's convulsions started to become more fine-tuned, gradually giving the once so peaceful-looking orb a massive, hulking and fearsome draconian-like shape, with massive jet-black wings, burning red eyes and teeth as sharp as swords; Minato was stunned, taking a step back out of sheer shock, his breathing became shallow and quick.

"And a test... of survival." The dragon ended in a deep, dark, voracious voice, topping it all with a mighty roar that sent Minato racing in the opposite direction.

"What is this? What am I supposed to do?" Minato said in terror, sprinting as fast as his feet could carry him.

"THAT'S FOR YOU TO FIGURE OUT!" The dragon roared, melting into the ground and letting Minato run into the nothingness, once again leaving him all alone with nothing but his fear and confusion.

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><p>"This place... this is not where I'm supposed to be..." Haihane observed blankly, dragging her feet through the flat, blank landscape.<p>

"Natsuo-sama will not be happy when he realizes I'm gone... he'll have to deal with Benitsubasa and Karasuba all by himself..." Haihana paused to laugh lightly at the thought of what Benitsubasa would try without Haihane there to stop her.

_Stupid flat-chested girl... she's not going to get him... but she's too dense to figure it out..._ Haihane started to laugh harder, barely able to contain herself as it was, but she only kept going.

_'Oh Natsuo-chan, I love you!'_ Benitsubasa's likely botched confession to Natsuo played out in Haihane's head, not to good effect. _'Well I don't love you!'_ Natsuo said back, Haihane was bursting with laughter, clutching her stomach in pain from her laughter.

"HA HA HA HA! Oh Benitsubasa, you're so dumb..." Haihane wiped a tear from her face, cutting her cheek deeply with her claws as she did so.

"OUCH! Damn... good thing I didn't try to cover my ears this time..." Haihane wiped the blood from her cheek with her right sleeve, looking ahead for some sort of activity or otherwise sign of life, there not being much else to do in this blank landscape- to her surprise, she found something.

A figure in the distance, barely visible from where she was, just a slight outline of color in stark juxtaposition to the surroundings was all Haihane could make out- it was something different, which was exciting after so many hours of nothingness.

"Hm? Someone else is here? Perhaps I can find some answers, and get back to my T.V... I'm probably missing something..." Haihane started to hustle towards the figure, claws at the ready just in case it was something hostile- not that it mattered at this point, anyone would at least provide a clue as to where she was or how to get back.

As Haihane neared, the figure started to wave to her- well, whoever it was, they were alive, for all the good that brought.

_It's... a human... perhaps Natsuo-sama? No... it's not him... but who is it?_ Haihane wondered as she came closer to the figure.

"Oh, it's you..." Haihane said in surprise once she finally came close enough to Minato to tell who he was- she didn't totally recognize him at first, she only remembered him as the ashikabi who helped another ashikabi and sekirei escape- an enemy, in other words. Curiously Haihane didn't feel that killing him was necessary, and she was even calmed by his presence, lowering her claws back to her side.

_Hm... no sense in killing him, SOME company is better than more of nothing... even if it isn't friendly..._ Haihane mentally shrugged.

"You're... Haihane... from the Disciplinary Squad... why are you here?" Minato asked, also in surprise; of all the people he could find in this odd place, why Haihane?

"I don't know. I don't even know where 'here' is." Haihane shook her head. "What about you? Have you any idea what's going on?"

"I... don't know... but... I know it isn't safe to stay here..." Minato said, looking back to where he had come from for any sign of the dragon he encountered- nothing, which seemed a mixed blessing at this point.

"Is something following you?" Haihane looked around him for whatever was capturing his attention- nothing.

"M-maybe... I think... we should go together." Minato suggested, Haihane scoffed at the suggestion.

"And _**why**_ should I go with you?"

"Well... it's your choice, but do you think the alternative is better?" Minato asked, rhetorically looking around at the empty surroundings to prove his point.

"Hmph... fine, but the moment we get out of here, we're enemies again." Haihane rolled her eyes and motioned for Minato to lead on.

"Alright, I want to get out of here just as much as you do..." Minato said, leading the way.

"Oh, by the way... what's your name again?" Haihane asked, having caught up to Minato, she was now walking right by his side, although at a safe distance of 5 feet apart- just out of Haihane's claw-reach for Minato's safety.

"Sahashi Minato."

"Good to know."


	2. An Enlightening Exchange

Chapter 2: An *Enlightening* Exchange

"Soooo... we're lost." Haihane said finally after what seemed like hours of walking to what seemed like nowhere, there was, of course, no navigational guides about to judge distance, neither even had a grasp on the notion of whether or not they were even going anywhere at all.

"Yeah... we are..." Minato replied in a defeated tone.

"So let's sum this all up:" Haihane began, Minato sighed and listened. "We have no idea where we are, no idea of where we are going, no idea of how to get back to the city, and to top it all off, I don't like you, and yet you're the only company I have in this BORING PLACE! There's not even a T.V. here! How can ANYONE live without a T.V.?" Haihane cried out.

"I'm sorry..." Minato said by force of reflex, something he probably shouldn't have done, as he would soon find out.

"You're sorry? Why?" Haihane asked somewhat aggressively, turning her focus and her deadly claws towards him- if he was sorry, then that implied he was somehow responsible; and if he was responsible, then he knew more than he let on, and she may have already been able to have gone home if he wasn't hiding information on her.

"I-I-I'm just sorry you're going through so much..." Minato said through chattering teeth, backing away from Haihane's claws, which she promptly lowered. "And... I'm sorry you're separated from your ashikabi and your friends..."

"They aren't my friends... I don't even _like_-" Haihane began, quickly catching herself.

_NO!_ Haihane screamed in her head, suddenly swinging around towards Minato, swinging her claws dangerously close to his face, so close that he felt the breeze of air rending apart from their rapid passage gust across his face.

"I see what you're trying to do! You're trying to turn me from my ashikabi!" Haihane shouted furiously, spreading her claws on both hands, preparing to strike- hell, being alone was better than consorting with the enemy, and since he wasn't Natsuo, that meant he was an opposing ashikabi, thus, an enemy.

"N-no, I'm not! You're the one who said-"

"MINATO!" A familiar female voice shouted from some distance away, drawing the attention of both Minato and Haihane.

Musubi, the one who called out, quickly closed the large distance between her and them and tackle-hugged Minato, apparantly being oblivious to Haihane's presence, which was just as well, because Haihane would have preferred to be invisible or just plain not there at this point.

"Minato! I'm so glad that you're ok! I was so worried and I was all alone and I couldn't find you and everyone else wasn't there and... and... and..." Musubi said, going on and on as she picked herself off of Minato and helped him up.

"Musubi... hey..." Minato said as he wobbled to his feet, looking at Musubi, who was smiling widely; Minato returned her smile, then looked over to Haihane, who was a few feet away, facing away from them.

"Oh, Musubi, this is Haihane." Minato said once he was fully up on his own.

"Hello Haihane, thank you for keeping my ashikabi safe for me." Musubi said, not recognizing her from her back.

Haihane stayed still at first, not sure what to do next- it wasn't as simple as just killing Minato as it was before, now if she tried it she would have a fight on her hands, and after remembering the last time Haihane and Benitsubasa fought Musubi on the bridge...

Haihane shuddered, now determined to keep Musubi as an ally as long as she was all alone on the matter- ESPECIALLY not without Karasuba, not after that last thrashing.

"Hello again, Musubi... I don't think I learned your name the last time we met." Haihane said, immediately bringing up the bridge incident to get Musubi's reaction on it, Minato looked from Haihane to Musubi, himself worried about what might develop.

"Oh..? You're that... sekirei that was on the bridge..." Musubi blinked in confusion, she remembered Haihane, but... something wasn't right, Musubi wasn't mad, happy or anything in between, she was just... confused, it seemed.

"Yes... does that bother you?" Haihane deliberately prodded with an evil smirk, eager to get a clear reaction.

"No, but... I didn't know you were still unwinged, I thought you had an ashikabi..." Musubi said, a moment of silent confusion, mirroring Musubi's own just a moment ago, followed.

"WHAT?" Haihane shrieked. "Are you dense? Of COURSE I have an ashikabi!" Haihane growled furiously- it was true apparantly, they WERE messing with her, they were trying to convince her to turn against her ashikabi, apparantly by convincing her she HAD no ashikabi- a crazy plan, yes, but what has happened recently that WASN'T crazy?

"No... I'm pretty sure you aren't winged... shouldn't you know that?" Musubi blinked, now more confused than ever- Musubi could tell she wasn't winged, but apparantly Haihane didn't know that she herself wasn't winged? Didn't make sense to Musubi.

_No... she's lying... Natsuo-sama IS my ashikabi! I... I remember... but... wait..._ Haihane put her hand over the back of her neck, covering her sekirei symbol, also cutting herself deeply with her claws- she didn't notice or care.

_I... I don't... FEEL winged... and... I don't... feel that Natsuo-sama is my ashikabi, he's just... a man... but... that can't be... that... can't... be..._

"S-so? What about you? I can tell you aren't winged, either!" Haihane retorted in a desperate attempt to draw attention away from herself, pointing at Musubi.

"Oh yeah! You're right..." Musubi blinked, turning to Minato, who was utterly stunned, barely able to grasp what was going on, he was still around the point of feeling joy that he wasn't all alone in this wasteland... with Haihane.

Without waiting for Minato to catch up, Musubi leaned into Minato, locking her lips with his.

Musubi's set of flourescent pink wings flared bright, shining with such ferocity in stark contrast to the dull, colorless environment, that for a brief moment, it seemed like a star shining across the land, a beacon for others- be that good or bad, that remained to be seen.

Haihane remained resolute, facing away from the both of them like a stubborn child.

_So it's true... I'm not winged anymore, and at to that, he's the only human in the area as far as I can tell... this must be some kind of test, to see if I'll turn against Natsuo-sama by taking another ashikabi the moment an opportunity arises..._

"No." Haihane said softly, almost a whisper, meant to be heard by only herself- fortunately Musubi and Minato were... preoccupied and didn't hear her vocal thinking.

Finally Musubi and Minato parted, Musubi took a step away from Minato to give him some breathing room.

"Alright, winged again!" Musubi giggled, pumping her fists a couple of times to loosen herself up.

Minato looked from Musubi to Haihane, she was still faced away from the both of them.

"Haihane... are you alright?" Minato asked in a concerned tone, walking towards her.

"I'm fine!" Haihane cried, swinging her claws around, once again bringing them dangerously close to Minato's face- not quite cutting him though.

"Ah! Ok, ok!" Minato took a reflexive step back for his own safety.

Haihane opened her mouth to say something, claws down at her sides to show she wasn't going to swing anymore, despite her furious-looking visage; but then she just stopped. Haihane didn't hold her tongue or hold herself back, she just... froze, as if time itself stopped.

"Huh? Haihane?" Minato took a step towards her- no movement, it seemed she didn't even register he came closer.

Minato swung around to see Musubi, also frozen in place.

"Musubi?" Minato approached her as well, giving her shoulder a gentle push- she was like a stone wall, she didn't move so much as an inch from where she was.

"They can't hear you." A familiar playful voice called from above and behind Minato, sending cold chills down his spine in remembrance.

"You!" Minato swung around to face a familiar shining orb of light- or at least, _mostly_ familiar... it seems that since the last time Minato saw the orb, it grew an antennae on it's top side; an odd change, but on the bright side, it hasn't changed to the dragon yet.

"Yes, me!" The orb giggled, floating down to him.

"Umm... you grew an antennae since we last met?" Minato asked, passively pointing towards the sprout on the topside of the orb.

"Hm? I did?" The orb asked, spinning itself around- it's not like it could see it, since the sprouted antennae was on the top of the orb- it's be like trying to see your own short hair without a mirror... come to think of it, how does the orb see at ALL? It doesn't have any eyes to speak of...

"Oh well, I'm sure it's nothing... so anyways, how have things been going with Haihane?" The orb asked with a giggle.

"W-well... she hasn't killed me, so I suppose things... could be worse..." Minato said after scratching his cheek thoughtfully, he himself wasn't so sure 'how things were going' with Haihane, considering her seemingly random tantrum before she froze, who knows what she was going through?

"Yeah, I suppose that's a solid start... of course, the same can't really be said for Benitsubasa or Karasuba- they're both MUCH more likely to kill you, you're lucky you got the easy one to start with!" The orb giggled.

"B-B-Benitsubasa? A-and K-Karasuba? They're h-h-here too?" Minato said through chattered teeth- suddenly everything seemed to get so much darker and more foreboding.

"Of course- I suppose it's fair to tell you _that_, I mean like in a normal written test you can look ahead to see the problems you'll face later, so this being a test just the same, yes, Karasuba and Benitsubasa are both here, too. Along with Matsu, and Ku-chan, and Tsukiumi and... well, Musubi and Haihane." The orb replied among a flurry of giggles, apparantly enjoying Minato's apparant distress; of course, it was hard for her... or _it_, not to.

_All of them? The whole Disciplinary Squad... and my sekirei... they're all here... along with... her..._ Minato looked from the orb to Haihane to Musubi, then back at the orb. _All here... and they're apparantly unwinged... _

Something didn't seem right... why would his opposing sekirei be here as well, and unwinged? Wouldn't they be here to oppose him as a part of the test? If so, then why would they be unwinged, and logically weaker? Seemed counter-productive.

Then it hit Minato- figuratively, of course.

"And... I'm supposed to... wing... them? All of them?" Minato asked nervously.

"Oh, very good! Yes, that's the test!" The orb giggled happily, evidently pleased that Minato had finally come to that conclusion, and not a moment too soon.

"I'm surprised you got that after only meeting 2 sekirei in this place... very impressive, to have put all the pieces together so quickly." The orb said happily, spinning rapidly in delight... probably.

A cold chill ran down Minato's spine- re-winging his own sekirei was no real problem that he could forsee -except maybe Tsukiumi- but the Disciplinary Squad sekirei... that was a different matter altogether.

"But I think that's enough for now, all this talking is beginning to bore me." The orb said, starting to warp and distort in a familiar fashion.

"N-no... not again..." Minato said in panic, he wasn't entirely sure if he thought that or said it aloud, but it really didn't matter.

"I'm feeling a bit... _hungry_... I wonder how human tastes..." The orb's now significantly deeper and darker voice said, the white glow giving way to the light-devouring darkness of the dragon.

Minato frantically looked from the dragon to Musubi and Haihane, wondering what would happen to them, being frozen in place- he didn't have to wonder long.

"Minato!" Musubi blurted as she instinctively rushed herself in between Minato and the dragon that appeared out of nowhere -at least to her and Haihane it did- before Minato could even register that she wasn't frozen anymore. Once his frantic brain caught up with what was happening, Minato took a few steps back apart from Musubi and the dragon, considering he couldn't help much and he'd only get in the way.

"What the hell?" Haihane blurted, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the dragon- not having a clear goal in mind like Musubi, she had no clear-cut plan to begin with, and now... this happened.

"HA~ HA HA HA! TIME TO FEAST!" The half-dragon, half playful girl's voice chimed as the dragon roared.

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><p>Author's Note- In my not-so-professional and not-so-unbiased opinion, this chapter was... meh. Not good, not bad, just... meh. I may update it later with some changes, but it'll have the same basic content, so no need to re-read if you're OCD like that or something...<p> 


	3. Psychology Test

Author's Note- You know what I like? REVIEWS! I know there's more than 5 people reading this fic, and I'd really like you all (or at least SOME) to leave me a review- it isn't that hard, just a sentence or two on what you think of it so far and anything you think should be changed. I really appreciate reviews- even if it's a 5 page long essay on how this is the worst literary work in the history of written record, so long as it has some valid points I'll consider it; reviews help me get better, and when I get better, then what you read that was written by me will be better :) So please, leave a review. I know my work isn't perfect, so let me know what's wrong that I missed so I can make it better! You know, other than the poor update schedule I've got going on here... but anyways, thank you in advance for those that do!

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><p><span>Chapter 3: Psychology Test<span>

With a single mighty roar, the dragon knocked Minato right off of his feet; neither Haihane or Musubi fell, being much stronger than he.

Not affected physically or mentally by the roar, Musubi bravely charged towards the dragon and leapt high into the air, bringing her at its face level to deliver a powerful punch as it was reeling back from its roar. With a quick lurch of its neck back, Musubi's punch missed by a wide margin and she fell back to the ground; needless to say that wasn't about to stop her from trying again.

Both Minato and Haihane stood back, unsure of what exactly they should do- Haihane was considering just leaving, Minato, of course, was not.

After a moment to collect herself, Haihane turned to leave, and she would have, but Minato caught her.

"Haihane?" Minato said to her, putting his hand on her shoulder as she almost took her first step.

"This isn't my fight... I'm leaving..." Haihane said, not so much as glancing back at Minato, she stayed still though.

"It'll go after you next..." Minato said, stating the obvious.

Haihane paused, she considered that, but she didn't come up with an argument yet.

"I know... but... I'm not your sekirei... I'm not supposed to help you..." Haihane argued weakly, slowly pulling away from Minato.

"But... I want to help you... I don't want you to face this dragon alone... let me- no, let _us_ help you." Minato said in a gentle, caring tone. Haihane quickly jerked her shoulder free from him and faced him with a cold, uncaring glare.

"Are you calling me weak?" Haihane shot back at him, Minato didn't have an immediate response, which told Haihane that she was probably right. "You don't think I can fight that thing alone, do you?"

"Th-that's not what I-"

"Then what DID you mean? Huh?"

"I..." Minato hesitated- bad idea, hesitating when answering Haihane hasn't yielded favorable results... ever... fortunately- or perhaps, unfortunately, Haihane waited for his answer without jumping to any perfectly valid conclusions this time. "I just want to protect you..."

"What?" Haihane asked, she didn't seem at surprised or shocked, it was more like a 'what' that one would say when they heard something that the speaker KNEW they would absolutely HATE, but asked them to repeat it anyways to make sure they heard correctly.

"I... don't want you to get hurt... I want to protect you..." Minato said, elaborating just a bit.

"Why?" Haihane asked in the same exact tone as before- it seemed Minato was getting nowhere with her, it was like she was only half-listening. Maybe she was doing it on purpose... no, she was PROBABLY doing it on purpose- after all, she had been already winged by another ashikabi -then for some apparantly arbitrary reason for the sake of this 'test', de-winged, choosing to become re-winged is something new and terrifying, something that would be considered betraying their previous ashikabi, which would not come easily to most, as the bond between ashikabi and sekirei is strong, even when it doesn't seem to be- take Haihane, she doesn't care for much other than television and making fun of Benitsubasa, but still she resists, for what seems to be loyalty to her Ashikabi...

Then again, maybe she was only half-listening because there was a dragon just behind them that wanted to eat them...

"Because..." Minato said, pausing to search himself for a good reason. A million correct answers flocked to the forefront of Minato's mind, all of them were acceptable, but none of them were... perfect.

_'Because there is no one like you and there never will be...'_

_'Because I couldn't stand myself if you got hurt when I could have prevented it...'_

_'Because ...'_

_'Because...'_

_'Because...'_

Countless thoughts in Minato's head screamed out to be heard like a million different voices vying for attention, voices that were all his. All of their answers were correct, but none of them were _right_.

Moments passed on the outside like torturous hours of sheer mental frustration on the inside- maybe it had been several minutes since Haihane had asked Minato 'why?' Maybe it was only a few seconds; Minato wasn't keeping track either way, he wasn't focused much on anything but coming up with the right response.

_What's taking so long?_ Haihane thought impatiently. _How difficult a question is 'why'? He's probably trying to come up with another convincing lie-_

_You know... he's not lying..._

_Wh-what? Who's that? And more importantly, how the hell did you get in my thoughts?_

_Irrelevant. All's that you should know about me is that you can trust me, and for that matter, you can trust him, too. More than me, even... he's your ally in this land... _

For some reason Haihane did feel a bit more at ease when listening to this... suspicious voice in her head- Haihane's rule of thumb is to ordinarily the ignore advice of voices in one's head except one's own thoughts but... it was a calming, soft voice, it seemed almost familiar, like an old, close friend, or even a sibling; but Haihane had no idea who this was... well, maybe it was just a gut feeling, but Haihane felt she could at least trust this voice more than... almost anything else in this land of foreign circumstance.

Both Haihane and Minato were lost in their own thoughts, contemplating their situation, the circumstances in which they currently found themselves; both seem to have forgotten the dragon, and even Musubi. There was only each other, in this blank, empty wasteland. Without thinking, Haihane began to walk forward, her steps mechanical, almost robotic.

Before either Minato, or even Haihane had noticed Haihane's sudden advance, she was hardly a foot apart from Minato, her left hand resting on Minato's shoulder, with her claws extending safely past his body; her right hand was on his chest, her claws... less than safely tracing upwards towards his head, stopping less than an inch from his chin. Minato was awakened like this, still speechless, with Haihane so close to him.

"Because you're worth more than dragon food... I'll help you..." Haihane said softly, her voice almost in a whisper. As Haihane leaned in, Minato's breath slowed to a crawl, his tense body relaxed. Their lips connected, and the dragon, with Musubi on its head trying hard yet failing to put the massive creature into a headlock, finally fixed its gaze on the pair, previously it had its hands full with Musubi, but with Haihane now winged and primed to join the fray, it was time to take the initiative.

"Heh heh heh, we'll see how you do when you're the size of a pancake!" The dragon roared, bringing up its massive front-right leg over the pair, and then swiftly downward.

"MINATO!" Musubi screamed as loud as she could, tears of desperation streaming down her face as she knew there was nothing she could do to stop the dragon's foot herself, not without anything short of her Norito, but since she couldn't reach her Ashikabi, that was quite impossible.

And yet, Musubi's cry seemed to have more effect on the dragon, as its foot stopped just shy of crushing the pair.

"M... M-Minato?" Musubi squeaked hopefully.

The dragon let out a pained shriek as it pulled its foot back, black blood spraying from its injury as it retreated. From the previously near-crater, there stood Haihane, claws raised triumphantly in the air as she faced the dragon, Minato on the ground behind her.

"What's the matter, got a splinter in your foot?" Haihane taunted the dragon with a sly grin on her face.

"LITTLE WITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" The dragon shrieked back as it charged- Haihane was all too ready for it.

Haihane launched like a rocket towards the dragon, claws extended straight forward, making her a bullet. The dragon swung its wing at her to try and swat her like a fly, as worked so well earlier against Musubi, but not Haihane. Haihane wasn't swatted away, instead she stuck right to the wing like an arrow into its target, her claws pierced the black skin like it was wet tissue paper.

Again the dragon shrieked with pain, again retreating out of reflex as it threw its head forward like a cracking whip, throwing the annoying pest that was Musubi away; unfortunately for the dragon, Haihane wasn't so easily dislodged from the wing. The dragon attempted flapping its wings furiously to try and throw off Haihane, though that only compounded the problem, as Haihane's claws tore their way downward until she finally reached the bottom like a cat clawing its way down the drapes.

Once more the dragon retreated from Haihane, its right wing where Haihane had ripped it apart was in tatters.

"You want some more!" Haihane challenged the dragon, ordinarily not a wise move.

"Grrr... you little... my wing's... I'll be back..." The dragon hissed vindictively, flapping its wings furiously until it had liftoff, having to have to work twice as hard with only one-and-a-half wings, but it did get airborne, and it made good its escape.

Haihane was breathing deeply, her arms sore from keeping herself on the whipping wing for what seemed like a painful forever, but was probably only a few seconds. As the dragon gained distance, its black form gradually blended with the flat, grey sky, until it was so far that its figure blurred completely and vanished from view. Haihane sighed, then fell back onto the cold ground, utterly exhausted.


End file.
